Assistant Nature Officer

Established as an independent charity in 1992, The Parks Trust expertly cares for over 6,000 acres of beautiful and inspirational green space in Milton Keynes including parks, ancient woodlands, lakes, river valleys and 80 miles of landscaped areas along the city’s grid roads.

In most towns and cities, parkland is owned by the local authority, but Milton Keynes’ founders were pioneers and decided to do things differently. Their vision was to create a new town where the parkland and landscapes would be protected forever by a charity that was separate from local government. Doing so would ensure that, as the new town grew, its green spaces would never be compromised or have to fight for funding.

That all became a reality when The Parks Trust was set up in 1992. The new charity was given a 999-year lease on a total of 4,500 acres of Milton Keynes and an endowment of property valued at £20m. Returns on these carefully managed investments generate the primary source of income required to fund the charity’s wide-ranging work today and forever.

Over 100 staff and 240 volunteers deliver the essential work of The Parks Trust. In addition to landscaping and maintenance tasks, that also includes providing valuable recreation and leisure facilities, connecting communities at over 500 outdoor events each year, and advancing public education around the wildlife, biodiversity, and the environment.

As Milton Keynes grows, so does The Parks Trust. Each year, the charity takes on new green spaces and endowments from developers to cover costs in perpetuity. This approach ensures that all new areas of the city benefit from the same quality of inspiring, connected landscape and Milton Keynes remains a great place to live, work and play.

This is an exciting time to join the Nature Services Team (NST) at The Parks Trust. Expanding to meet the opportunities presented by Biodiversity Net Gain, Countryside Stewardship, and a recent Lottery Award, the team is seeking to deliver ambitious uplift to our key nature sites and integrate wildlife throughout the parkland estate.

The Assistant Nature Officer role is a fantastic opportunity to support the NST with our ambitions to improve our landscapes for nature. The Trust is seeking to engage in a range of nature funding opportunities, from preparing a Countryside Stewardship application to developing our Biodiversity Net Gain offer. The Assistant Nature Officer role will be involved supporting the administration and delivery of such schemes at the Trust, including undertaking site identification surveys, liaising with teams on implementation, and managing our agreements on a GIS based asset system.

The NST monitoring programme is an important theme of work that identifies and monitories selected species across our landscape and supports the teams that manage habitats in and around protected species. The Assistant Nature Officer will play a key role in participating in the monitoring schemes, reporting on data collected, and sharing key insights for management, alongside the rest of the NST. To support these objectives for the team, the Assistant Nature Officer will work to attaining a Great Crested Newt CL08 Licence and develop a good foundation of GIS skills in the Esri GIS suite.

The Assistant Nature Officer role has excellent scope for development with training and professional memberships funded by The Parks Trust, and the opportunity for progression from an assistant to a full officer level.

The role will be a blend of outside and office-based work and involve outside work in all season and conditions.

Key Objectives

• Support the preparation and assessment of sites for the Trust’s Biodiversity Net Gain programme and other nature finance schemes.
• Support protected species management at the Trust.
• Provide advice on species and habitat management to support the Operations team.
• Participate in and deliver nature monitoring schemes.

Hours

• 37.5 hours per week, Monday to Friday
• Occasional weekend working required, with Time Off In Lieu available.

Salary

• £32,000 per annum

FULL JOB DESCRIPTION ATTACHED.

Essential

• Education to BSc level in ecology, wildlife conservation or a related area; or equivalent experience
• Demonstrated good collaboration skills
• Experience with report writing
• Experience using Office 365.
• Ability to travel around Milton Keynes independently.

Desirable

• MSc in ecology, wildlife conservation or a related area; or equivalent experience.
• Experience participating in Great Crested Newt Surveys.
• Experience using GIS Software
• Full Driving Licence.

Personal Attributes

• Strong interest in wildlife, biodiversity and conservation
• Can work collaboratively
• Strong problem-solving skills
• Clear and effective communicator

In return, we offer a comprehensive benefits package:

• Ongoing support and training
• Excellent contributory pension scheme (up to 10% employer contribution)
• Income protection and life assurance cover after qualifying period
• Enhanced family friendly policies after qualifying period
• Occupational sick pay
• Cycle to Work scheme
• Discounted gym membership
• Salary sacrifice schemes for tech & electric cars
• Generous annual leave allowance
• Wellbeing day off each year
• Buying and Selling option for annual leave
• Medical Cash Plan
• Access to employee wellbeing helpline
• Free eye tests
• Great office in a park land setting with free parking

Application process

Please apply online using the link through our website using Cezanne.

• Deadline for applications on 23:59 Sunday 9th August 2026
• 1st Stage Teams Interviews - Thursday 13th August 2026
• 2nd Stage In Person interviews - week commencing 24th August 2026

The Parks Trust is committed to safeguarding and will always recruit all personnel in line with government guidelines, relevant legislation, Charity Commission guidance and best practice standards.

We are committed to equality of opportunity for all staff and applications from individuals are encouraged regardless of age, disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief and marriage and civil partnerships.

If you need additional support with your application or would like further information, please contact recruitment@theparkstrust.com.